NEW YORK _ Following months of community push back, Amazon on Thursday announced it was canceling its plan to open a headquarters in New York City.
The internet giant released a statement announcing the company decided not to move forward with its plans to open a facility in Long Island City, which would have brought an estimated 25,000 new jobs to the city.
"After much thought and deliberation, we've decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens," the statement said. "While polls show that 70 percent of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City."
Amazon launched a public search in 2017 for a location for its second headquarters.
In November, the company announced it would split the headquarters, dubbed HQ2, between two locations: New York City and Arlington, Va.
The decision drew outrage from community groups and politicians citing concerns about gentrification, rising housing costs and a $3 billion tax subsidy package associated with the plan.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo supported Amazon's presence in Long Island City since the company announced it was locating its headquarters there.
A source told the New York Daily News that the governor, a contingent of labor unions and Amazon met on Monday in a last-ditch effort to save the deal.
A top Amazon official had testified before the City Council that it would not remain neutral in any union bids by New York staff _ putting pro-union politicians like Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio in a tricky spot. That spot was even worse for the two unions who were supporting Amazon, The Building and Construction Trades and the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.
"They buckled because we held firm on the values of New Yorkers _ we told them that you cannot come to New York City and declare that you will crush the rights of workers to organize," Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents the area where the headquarters would have been, said. "Amazon insisted and refused to change their ways and we said no deal. And they would rather leave and go elsewhere than allow workers who make $18 an hour to organize a union," Van Bramer said.
While there had been outrage surrounding the $3 billion in subsidies the company was getting, Van Bramer said he thought the union issue was what made the deal "untenable" in the end.
"Rather than addressing the legitimate concerns that have been raised by many New Yorkers, Amazon says you do it our way or not at all, we will not even consider the concerns of New Yorkers," said Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union spokeswoman Chelsea Connor. "That's not what a responsible business would do."
Amazon said in its statement that it currently employs more than 5,000 people in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island, and that it plans to "continue growing these teams."
"We do not intend to reopen the HQ2 search at this time," Amazon's statement said.
The deal was announced without the buy-in of local pols like Van Bramer and state Sen. Michael Gianaris _ and structured to avoid the approval process of the City Council. That was part of the problem, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said.
"This is proof of why it is so important to have an inclusive and transparent process from the beginning," she said. "It is unfortunate that rather than engage in productive discussions about a major development, Amazon has decided to leave New York.
"This process was clearly flawed and did not include the affected community nor their legislative representatives until after the deal was signed," the Democratic leader added. "This was not the same process that was followed in other areas including Virginia and that is clearly why this deal failed."
Democratic state Sen. Brad Hoylman, whose Manhattan district is home to Google, blasted the company's decision to pull out of the Big Apple.
"I think Amazon is making a huge mistake. New York City is the talent pool for the entire world. I don't think tech workers are going to want to move to suburban backwaters. We have the energy and excitement of the biggest and best city in the world."
